Computer switches itself on

I must apologise if this question is not new, but I really would appreciate somebody giving me the answer.

Problem :-
I use Windows 2002 XP Home with SP3 and only shut it completely down when I have definitely finished computing.
All other times I use Hibernate and it works fine. All my data is stored if needed and it simply lays dormant until I hit the power button and away it goes.

I do not go to bed early and often it is on Hibernate until 1.00,2.00, or even 3.00 am, when I shut it down.

I find very often that late night it switches itself on for no apparent reason. I am caught unawares and suddenly see that the computer is on and do not know how long it has been.

The other night I was just about to shut it down at 1.00 am and it just came to life in front of my eyes. I suspect that 1.00 am is a trigger time in this.

I had no idea that my XP had built-in default schedules as part of the Windows system. This problem has been with me a long time and only really came to light when I started to use Hibernate, which again is a long time ago.

I am absolutely sure that what you say is the cause. My AVG9 is OK.

My Device Manager has been checked and the Wake up on Standby box for the Network adapter was not enabled.

I checked the scheduled tasks and there are 3 - Disk Defrag - Disc Clean up - Tune up Application Start. The first two I have disabled and the last have left since I don`t know what this is and if it is safe to kill. All wake-up boxes have been unchecked.

There were days and months set, which accounts for the problem not being every night but only now and again.

I will keep an eye on these matters and feel sure you have got my problem fully pinned down.

Thank you for your posts, it seems such a tiny thread when it only needs two posts to resolve, but it sure gave me an answer that i have been puzzled about for years.

I checked the scheduled tasks and there are 3 - Disk Defrag - Disc Clean up - Tune up Application Start. The first two I have disabled and the last have left since I don`t know what this is and if it is safe to kill. All wake-up boxes have been unchecked.

Click to expand...

I would guess that you have a PC tune up application that had been installed in the past that wants to automatically tune the PC according to its schedule. I doubt very much that turning this off will harm your PC but its easy enough to find out. Image the drive and then turn the scheduled task off. If something goes wrong restore the drive. If the more likely scenario plays out and everything is fine your golden.

Looking on the net, I find many people have had the problem I posted about.
Answers vary, some advise the measures you have stated and others glibly say to access BIOS, but they do not say how to do this or what to do when you get it. The assumption is made that everybody on Planet Earth knows what BIOS is and what to do with it when you get it - well I don`t for a start. Just a set of syllables to me.

When I ask the net how to access BIOS, there is no definitive answer. You have to press F1, F2, F£ CTRL or DEL or whatever comes into mind at the time, when you see that few seconds flash on logon, if you are quick enough - God, if they do not know how to do it themselves, why try to tell somebody else how to do it ?

So I will ask my obliging friends here :-

1. What on Earth is BIOS ?
2. How do I access it ?
3. What am I supposed to do when I get it ?

Looking on the net, I find many people have had the problem I posted about.
Answers vary, some advise the measures you have stated and others glibly say to access BIOS, but they do not say how to do this or what to do when you get it. The assumption is made that everybody on Planet Earth knows what BIOS is and what to do with it when you get it - well I don`t for a start. Just a set of syllables to me.

When I ask the net how to access BIOS, there is no definitive answer. You have to press F1, F2, F£ CTRL or DEL or whatever comes into mind at the time, when you see that few seconds flash on logon, if you are quick enough - God, if they do not know how to do it themselves, why try to tell somebody else how to do it ?

So I will ask my obliging friends here :-

1. What on Earth is BIOS ?
2. How do I access it ?
3. What am I supposed to do when I get it ?

I would like to thank all posters on this thread for the information given.

Since I actioned the suggestions made here and killed all "wake up" elements I could find, my computer has never again sprung to life at mid-night out of it`s hibernation slumbers and had an uncontrolled jolly in the early hours.

Problem solved and a big thanks to you all. THAT problem has been bugging me for years. I thought it was a poltergeist.

So you see how Wilders provides a variety of help to PC stumble-bums like me the world over and is not always used as a platform for a personal bun-fight.